Enjoying 'Mile High' should be a slam dunk

For an enjoyable trip down dunk's memory lane -- or, in Julius Erving's case, a flight over the lane and to the hoop -- watch "Mile High: Legend of the Dunk Contest" at 4 p.m. Saturday on TNT.

The one-hour program, hosted by Marv Albert, spotlights the original slam- dunk contest, held by the ABA in 1976, and the NBA's first official dunk competition in 1984. Both of those events took place in Denver, as do this weekend's All-Star festivities.

Producer Greg Pike has "Mile High" give viewers a sense of time and place in 1976, when the ABA was in the final season of its nine-year run. Nuggets President Carl Scheer had the idea for the dunk contest as a way for the ABA to showcase its players who usually were overshadowed by those in the NBA.

Scheer wanted the dunk contest to help sell tickets to McNichols Arena on Jan. 27, 1976. Figuring the ABA All-Star Game in and of itself might not attract enough fans, Scheer added the dunk competition and a concert featuring Charlie Rich and Glen Campbell. In fact, Pike's main regrets in putting together "Mile High" were that he couldn't find any footage of the concert and couldn't get an interview with the Rhinestone Cowboy.

No matter. The footage of the event -- particularly the duel between Dr. J and David "Skywalker" Thompson -- is compelling enough. In his signature dunk, Erving ran from backcourt, got airborne at the free-throw line and somehow jammed with both flair and authority.

In the documentary, Erving has a simple explanation for the popularity of that move. "People young and old alike," Erving says, "... just like to see brothers fly."

Thompson also performed his share of aerial wizardry. What's striking about his recollection of that night nearly 30 years ago is that he can describe in great detail each of the five dunks he tried.

Erving's memories are equally specific and 1984 dunk champion Larry Nance also seemingly can recite chapter and (re)verse about his jam session.

"It just shows how much it meant to them," Pike said. "It's amazing that they can recall it so vividly."

People who can recall the '76 and '84 competitions still might not remember what Pike employs as a "bridge" between the two events. During the 1976-77 season, the NBA's first after merging with the ABA, CBS held a dunk contest that ran during halftime of its "Game of the Week" telecasts.

The competition had an undeniably schlocky feel, all the way to the final between the Warriors' Larry McNeill and Indiana's Darnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillman that took place during the 1977 NBA Finals. Hillman, who attended San Jose State, wore a "Bottle Shoppe" jersey at the request of a friend.

Hillman won that dunk title, and Pike said Hillman seemed especially pleased to have that competition resurface.

Pike said Hillman told him, "I've been trying to get that video for 20 years."

Daytona doings: One innovation to notice in Fox's coverage of Sunday's Daytona 500 is the use of "Cablecam," the camera that has provided some powerful shots in football telecasts in recent years.

"Cablecam" made its NASCAR debut in Fox's telecast of the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday. In a conference call Tuesday, director Artie Kempner said, "We're really high on it because ... in the Budweiser Shootout, all the things that we tried worked: We worked the shots coming at the camera, we worked shots going away from the camera. We were able to work over some cars in pit road when they made their stop."

Briefly: TNT's Charles Barkley recently got a contract extension that will keep him on "Inside the NBA" through the 2007-08 season. The deal gives Barkley a presence on HBO and CNN, both of which are owned by TNT's parent company, Time Warner. ... Cal and Comcast SportsNet West are close to a deal that would give the new cable outlet the rights to several Bears' events, including a few football games. ...The final edition of "I, Max" airs tonight on Fox Sports Net Bay Area. "I, Max," hosted by Max Kellerman, was both unwatchable and un- watched. "I, Max" had the distinction of having its title list its entire audience.